Rays have an offense? Who would have believed it?

They walk toward the mound, and the third baseman takes a step back. The pitcher looks around for him. The opposing manager wishes the dugout came with a night light.

They are the hitters of the Tampa Bay Rays.

And all of the sudden, they are the big kids in school. They have discovered which end of the bat to hold.

Who would have thought it? These light-hitting batsmen who never scuffed a ball, let alone dented one, are suddenly among the most ferocious hitters in the American League. They can hit. They can score. For crying out loud, they can win.

Content beyond this point is for members only.

Already a member? To view the rest of this column, sign in using the handy "Sign In" button located in the upper right corner of the GarySheltonSports.com blog (it's at the far right of the navigation bar under Gary's photo)!

Not a member? It's easy to subscribe so you can view the rest of this column and all other premium content on GarySheltonSports.com.

Search Gary Shelton Sports

Search for:

How to Subscribe

Gary Shelton Sports is a subscription site. The following options are available:
• Buy a season ticket ($4 a month).
• Splurge on a club seat ($24 a year).
• Or go all in with a skybox ($54 for three years, which is only $1.50 a month).

About Gary Shelton

• No one covers Tampa Bay like Gary Shelton.
• No one has seen as many moments, as many athletes, as many coaches as he has over the last quarter of a century.
• No one has won more awards, including two national Associated Press Sports Editors Best Columnist awards and eight top 10 finishes. He also just received his sixth Sportswriter of the Year award for Florida by the NSSA.
• No one has seen more big events, including 29 Super Bowls, 10 Olympics and 11 Final Fours. Gary still goes into the locker rooms to obtain his stories.
• No one has made you angrier, or laugh louder, or think harder about what he has written.

Now, he begins a website designed to keep him in touch with the readers who have grown up on his words.